Quick-connect clip-type terminals or connectors are devices to circumvent previous wire connecting operations which required the time-consuming tasks of skinning, placing and connecting (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,112,147 issued Nov. 26, 1973 to W. Pferd, K. H. Pohl and D. W. Tyler). In the telephone industry, large numbers of wire terminations are made each year; with the advent of new business services, there is a rapid increase in the number of in-building interconnections. The increase in number and complexity of interconnections, if not accompanied by more efficient methods of accommodation, would result in an undue expansion in size. In mitigating such expansion in size and installation time of in-building interconnections, novel connectors and connector terminals have been developed.
Dunn et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,002,391 issued Jan. 11, 1977 and in Canadian Pat. No. 1,029,109 issued Apr. 4, 1978, has improved upon the quick clip type connector (often termed simply quick clip). Such or similar quick clip connectors are suitable for use in the connector block of the present invention.
Connector blocks housing a number of quick clips are favoured in the telecommunications industry. Such connector blocks are used at distribution points for interconnecting feeder cable pairs and distribution cable pairs via jumper wires. These interconnections are not once-and-for-all connections. It is sometimes necessary to change interconnections to re-match physical cable pairs with subscriber numbers when subscribers change location.
Connector blocks have been disclosed in the prior art. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,798,587 to B. C. Ellis Jr. et al, two piece construction is used to house individual clip connectors. Two piece construction is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,778,750 to Caveney et al. In the Ellis patent wires are laid in a mounting receptacle which accepts the connector block, the connector block is then mounted to make one side of the connections, thereafter the second series of wires is connected into the block. The Caveney connector block is bulky, having an approximate thickness of 1".